There are three phases of a football team. On Saturday, Rutgers was behind in all phases.
The offense was putrid early on, the defense was solid but the team still fell behind by 18 points. And of course, the special teams didn’t even get off to a hot start but in the end, it proved to be a difference maker.
Early in the contest, Rutgers muffed a punt that led to a Michigan State touchdown. It was not a perfect performance but the unit took advantage of blunders by the Spartans and provided the spark needed.
“We do some things that are a little bit different in our punt block and in our punt team,” head coach Greg Schiano said following the win on Saturday.